User blog:Mx. Junie/Dear White People: Comparisons and Constracts
Dear White People, as it is well known, was a creation by Justin Simien and the collaborative efforts and work of his associates, to produce a dramatic satire on the livelihood of black people within predominant white spaces. In the movie, it follows four separate stories of characters Samantha White, Coco Conners, Lionel Higgins, and Troy Fairbanks, telling stories of colorism, homophobia, sexism, and most noticably racism. To break down certain areas (using my perspective), here is what I mean to convey... In the movie: *'Samantha White' is a media student of mixed Caucasian (through her father) and African-American (through her mother) enthnicity, whom pushes to display her appreciation and progressiveness towards her blackness. Likewise, she tries to closet her relationship with a white student by the name of Gabriel Mitchell, whom shared her viewpoints on many social and political issues associated with people of color. When her relationship is revealed to Reggie Green and other BSU members, Sam continues to feel an internal conflict over her identity and her friendship with Reggie. *'Lionel Higgins' is often lonesome and shy student whom "did not subscribe to labels" despite constant harassment from other boys on campus on his pending sexuality (possibly due to his overgrowing afro hairstyle). Soon, he is forced to live alongside Kurt Fletcher and his group, whom continue to taunt homophobic gestures. He decides to join the Bulge Newspaper after an incident during lunch at Armstrong Parker's cafeteria between Kurt and Sam. Eventually, Lionel develops a soft attraction to editor George but is pushed away from the images of blackface and appropriation of black culture. *'Coco Conners' is an attending black student of dark complexion. She was initially interviewed by Helmut West for a reality show part. However, Coco quickly finds herself in an unfortunate competition for a position against Samantha White and expressed great upset on the basis of differeniating skin colors. In an effort to boost her popularity, Coco tried to express herself in more vocalizing methods and sought the help of Pastiche's annual party of controversy themed Dear Black People. Attending the party, Coco witnessed an array of white faces dressed in blackface, even witnessing a moment in which a female student mocked her video. Before leaving the party, she ranted into Sam's camera that she detested the protests and rallies for racial consciousness. *'Troy Fairbanks' is a heavily known and popular student at Winchester University. Raised to strive only for excellence and respectability by his father and dean of the school, he pushed to keep his image perfect among the student body and white staff, often clashing with the members of the Black Student Union such as Reggie Green and Samantha White. Troy, hoever, continues to feel the pressures and stress of his unnerving position, soon seeking to aid Kurt in Pastiche despite his father's warnings. He, later, decides to break up with his girlfriend Sofia Fletcher, which backfires on him upon confessing to using recreational maraijuana in his bathroom. When informed of the Dear Black People party at Garmin House, Troy demanded his father be informed of the situation, as it would hinder funds for Winchester. In the series, however, the story expands to two more characters mentioned in the movie and adds some depth to these characters. Likewise, they continue some of the similar, if not the same issues presented: *'Reggie Green', though a smart student, eventually became a potential target for campus police after several drinks and a debate over Addison's usage of the n-slur led to a brief altercation. Hit heavy with reality, Reggie continued to struggle with his internal pain but soon wrote and read a poem about the incident. He would, later, reveal once more his internal struggles with his feelings for Sam to her. *'Gabe Mitchell', Samantha's white boyfriend, soon became a momentarily topic for the black students of Armstrong-Parker, especially amongst the Black Caucus. Upon witnessing the boiling confrontation between Reggie and Addison, he phoned campus police, leading to the unexpected near manslaughter that traumatized the attending party members of the night. After confessing this sin to Joelle Brooks, Gabe made advances to block this news from his girlfriend, only for their relationship to eventually sour and the two separate on their own ways. Both touch on great deals of issues not heavily taken seriously or spoken about for changes in the norms. They also put much on these particular characters. While I hope for more in the upcoming season, there are still many conversations to be had on how the characters were presented in the movie and in the series and how the differences and similarilities add much to be explored further. Category:Blog posts